Z/os smf record navigation visualization tooling

ABSTRACT

Aspects of the present invention include a method, system and computer program product for navigating through a computer file and visualizing portions of the navigated file. The method includes a processor selecting a file to provide for navigation of its contents; determining to provide for navigation of the file as structured record segments; providing for navigation of the file as structured record segments; and displaying, by the processor, the structured record segments during navigation of the file. The method also includes the processor determining, by the processor, to provide for navigation of the file as spanned structured records; and displaying, by the processor, the spanned structured records during navigation of the file.

BACKGROUND

The present invention relates to the testing of software, and more specifically, to a method, system and computer program product that implement aspects of workload and operational profiling, coupled with business analytics, thereby resulting in improvements in the testing of customer software.

In the field of software testing, as in many other technical fields, improvements are constantly being sought, primarily for cost and accuracy reasons. A fundamental goal of software testing in theory is to identify all of the problems in a customer's software program before the program is released for use by the customer. However, in reality this is far from the case as typically a software program is released to the customer having some number of problems that were unidentified during the software development and testing process.

A relatively more proactive approach to improving software testing is sought that employs traditional methods of understanding characteristics of clients' environments, augmented with a process of data mining empirical systems data. Such client environment and workload profiling analysis may result in software test improvements based on characteristics comparisons between the client and the test environments.

SUMMARY

According to one or more embodiments of the present invention, a computer-implemented method includes selecting, by a processor, a file to provide for navigation of its contents; determining, by the processor, to provide for navigation of the file as structured record segments; providing, by the processor, for navigation of the file as structured record segments; and displaying, by the processor, the structured record segments during navigation of the file. The method also comprises determining, by the processor, to provide for navigation of the file as spanned structured records; and displaying, by the processor, the spanned structured records during navigation of the file.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, a system includes a processor in communication with one or more types of memory, the processor configured to select a file to provide for navigation of its contents; to determine to provide for navigation of the file as structured record segments; to provide for navigation of the file as structured record segments; and to display the structured record segments during navigation of the file. The processor is also configured to determine to provide for navigation of the file as spanned structured records, and to display the spanned structured records during navigation of the file.

According to yet another embodiment of the present invention, a computer program product includes a non-transitory storage medium readable by a processing circuit and storing instructions for execution by the processing circuit for performing a method that includes selecting, by a processor, a file to provide for navigation of its contents; determining, by the processor, to provide for navigation of the file as structured record segments; providing, by the processor, for navigation of the file as structured record segments; and displaying, by the processor, the structured record segments during navigation of the file. The method also comprises determining, by the processor, to provide for navigation of the file as spanned structured records; and displaying, by the processor, the spanned structured records during navigation of the file.

Additional features and advantages are realized through the techniques of the present invention. Other embodiments and aspects of the invention are described in detail herein and are considered a part of the claimed invention. For a better understanding of the invention with the advantages and the features, refer to the description and to the drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The subject matter which is regarded as the invention is particularly pointed out and distinctly claimed in the claims at the conclusion of the specification. The forgoing and other features, and advantages of the invention are apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 depicts a cloud computing environment according to one or more embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 2 depicts abstraction model layers according to one or more embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating one example of a processing system for practice of the teachings herein;

FIG. 4 is a flow diagram of a method for navigating through a computer file and visualizing portions of the navigated file in accordance with one or more embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 5 depicts a screen display of selected portions of a computer file that is being navigated through by the method in accordance with one or more embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 6 depicts a spanned variable block record for a binary file type in accordance with one or more embodiments of the present invention; and

FIG. 7 depicts an assembled record header and data segment for a binary file type in accordance with one or more embodiments of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

It is understood in advance that although this disclosure includes a detailed description on cloud computing, implementation of the teachings recited herein are not limited to a cloud computing environment. Rather, embodiments of the present invention are capable of being implemented in conjunction with any other type of computing environment now known or later developed.

Cloud computing is a model of service delivery for enabling convenient, on-demand network access to a shared pool of configurable computing resources (e.g. networks, network bandwidth, servers, processing, memory, storage, applications, virtual machines, and services) that can be rapidly provisioned and released with minimal management effort or interaction with a provider of the service. This cloud model may include at least five characteristics, at least three service models, and at least four deployment models.

Characteristics are as follows:

On-demand self-service: a cloud consumer can unilaterally provision computing capabilities, such as server time and network storage, as needed automatically without requiring human interaction with the service's provider.

Broad network access: capabilities are available over a network and accessed through standard mechanisms that promote use by heterogeneous thin or thick client platforms (e.g., mobile phones, laptops, and PDAs).

Resource pooling: the provider's computing resources are pooled to serve multiple consumers using a multi-tenant model, with different physical and virtual resources dynamically assigned and reassigned according to demand. There is a sense of location independence in that the consumer generally has no control or knowledge over the exact location of the provided resources but may be able to specify location at a higher level of abstraction (e.g., country, state, or datacenter).

Rapid elasticity: capabilities can be rapidly and elastically provisioned, in some cases automatically, to quickly scale out and rapidly released to quickly scale in. To the consumer, the capabilities available for provisioning often appear to be unlimited and can be purchased in any quantity at any time.

Measured service: cloud systems automatically control and optimize resource use by leveraging a metering capability at some level of abstraction appropriate to the type of service (e.g., storage, processing, bandwidth, and active user accounts). Resource usage can be monitored, controlled, and reported providing transparency for both the provider and consumer of the utilized service.

Service Models are as follows:

Software as a Service (SaaS): the capability provided to the consumer is to use the provider's applications running on a cloud infrastructure. The applications are accessible from various client devices through a thin client interface such as a web browser (e.g., web-based e-mail). The consumer does not manage or control the underlying cloud infrastructure including network, servers, operating systems, storage, or even individual application capabilities, with the possible exception of limited user-specific application configuration settings.

Platform as a Service (PaaS): the capability provided to the consumer is to deploy onto the cloud infrastructure consumer-created or acquired applications created using programming languages and tools supported by the provider. The consumer does not manage or control the underlying cloud infrastructure including networks, servers, operating systems, or storage, but has control over the deployed applications and possibly application hosting environment configurations.

Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS): the capability provided to the consumer is to provision processing, storage, networks, and other fundamental computing resources where the consumer is able to deploy and run arbitrary software, which can include operating systems and applications. The consumer does not manage or control the underlying cloud infrastructure but has control over operating systems, storage, deployed applications, and possibly limited control of select networking components (e.g., host firewalls).

Deployment Models are as follows:

Private cloud: the cloud infrastructure is operated solely for an organization. It may be managed by the organization or a third party and may exist on-premises or off-premises.

Community cloud: the cloud infrastructure is shared by several organizations and supports a specific community that has shared concerns (e.g., mission, security requirements, policy, and compliance considerations). It may be managed by the organizations or a third party and may exist on-premises or off-premises.

Public cloud: the cloud infrastructure is made available to the general public or a large industry group and is owned by an organization selling cloud services.

Hybrid cloud: the cloud infrastructure is a composition of two or more clouds (private, community, or public) that remain unique entities but are bound together by standardized or proprietary technology that enables data and application portability (e.g., cloud bursting for load-balancing between clouds).

A cloud computing environment is service oriented with a focus on statelessness, low coupling, modularity, and semantic interoperability. At the heart of cloud computing is an infrastructure comprising a network of interconnected nodes.

Referring now to FIG. 1, illustrative cloud computing environment 50 is depicted. As shown, cloud computing environment 50 comprises one or more cloud computing nodes 10 with which local computing devices used by cloud consumers, such as, for example, personal digital assistant (PDA) or cellular telephone 54A, desktop computer 54B, laptop computer 54C, and/or automobile computer system 54N may communicate. Nodes 10 may communicate with one another. They may be grouped (not shown) physically or virtually, in one or more networks, such as Private, Community, Public, or Hybrid clouds as described hereinabove, or a combination thereof. This allows cloud computing environment 50 to offer infrastructure, platforms and/or software as services for which a cloud consumer does not need to maintain resources on a local computing device. It is understood that the types of computing devices 54A-N shown in FIG. 1 are intended to be illustrative only and that computing nodes 10 and cloud computing environment 50 can communicate with any type of computerized device over any type of network and/or network addressable connection (e.g., using a web browser).

Referring now to FIG. 2, a set of functional abstraction layers provided by cloud computing environment 50 (FIG. 1) is shown. It should be understood in advance that the components, layers, and functions shown in FIG. 2 are intended to be illustrative only and embodiments of the invention are not limited thereto. As depicted, the following layers and corresponding functions are provided:

Hardware and software layer 60 includes hardware and software components. Examples of hardware components include: mainframes 61; RISC (Reduced Instruction Set Computer) architecture based servers 62; servers 63; blade servers 64; storage devices 65; and networks and networking components 66. In some embodiments, software components include network application server software 67 and database software 68.

Virtualization layer 70 provides an abstraction layer from which the following examples of virtual entities may be provided: virtual servers 71; virtual storage 72; virtual networks 73, including virtual private networks; virtual applications and operating systems 74; and virtual clients 75.

In one example, management layer 80 may provide the functions described below. Resource provisioning 81 provides dynamic procurement of computing resources and other resources that are utilized to perform tasks within the cloud computing environment. Metering and Pricing 82 provide cost tracking as resources are utilized within the cloud computing environment, and billing or invoicing for consumption of these resources. In one example, these resources may comprise application software licenses. Security provides identity verification for cloud consumers and tasks, as well as protection for data and other resources. User portal 83 provides access to the cloud computing environment for consumers and system administrators. Service level management 84 provides cloud computing resource allocation and management such that required service levels are met. Service Level Agreement (SLA) planning and fulfillment 85 provide pre-arrangement for, and procurement of, cloud computing resources for which a future requirement is anticipated in accordance with an SLA.

Workloads layer 90 provides examples of functionality for which the cloud computing environment may be utilized. Examples of workloads and functions which may be provided from this layer include: mapping and navigation 91; software development and lifecycle management 92; virtual classroom education delivery 93; data analytics processing 94; transaction processing 95; and a method 96 for navigating through a computer file and visualizing portions of the navigated file in accordance with one or more embodiments of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 3, there is shown a processing system 100 for implementing the teachings herein according to one or more embodiments. The system 100 has one or more central processing units (processors) 101 a, 101 b, 101 c, etc. (collectively or generically referred to as processor(s) 101). In one embodiment, each processor 101 may include a reduced instruction set computer (RISC) microprocessor. Processors 101 are coupled to system memory 114 and various other components via a system bus 113. Read only memory (ROM) 102 is coupled to the system bus 113 and may include a basic input/output system (BIOS), which controls certain basic functions of system 100.

FIG. 3 further depicts an input/output (I/O) adapter 107 and a network adapter 106 coupled to the system bus 113. I/O adapter 107 may be a small computer system interface (SCSI) adapter that communicates with a hard disk 103 and/or tape storage drive 105 or any other similar component. I/O adapter 107, hard disk 103, and tape storage device 105 are collectively referred to herein as mass storage 104. Operating system 120 for execution on the processing system 100 may be stored in mass storage 104. A network adapter 106 interconnects bus 113 with an outside network 116 enabling data processing system 100 to communicate with other such systems. A screen (e.g., a display monitor) 115 is connected to system bus 113 by display adaptor 112, which may include a graphics adapter to improve the performance of graphics intensive applications and a video controller. In one embodiment, adapters 107, 106, and 112 may be connected to one or more I/O busses that are connected to system bus 113 via an intermediate bus bridge (not shown). Suitable I/O buses for connecting peripheral devices such as hard disk controllers, network adapters, and graphics adapters typically include common protocols, such as the Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI). Additional input/output devices are shown as connected to system bus 113 via user interface adapter 108 and display adapter 112. A keyboard 109, mouse 110, and speaker 111 all interconnected to bus 113 via user interface adapter 108, which may include, for example, a Super I/O chip integrating multiple device adapters into a single integrated circuit.

In exemplary embodiments, the processing system 100 includes a graphics processing unit 130. Graphics processing unit 130 is a specialized electronic circuit designed to manipulate and alter memory to accelerate the creation of images in a frame buffer intended for output to a display. In general, graphics processing unit 130 is very efficient at manipulating computer graphics and image processing, and has a highly parallel structure that makes it more effective than general-purpose CPUs for algorithms where processing of large blocks of data is done in parallel.

Thus, as configured in FIG. 3, the system 100 includes processing capability in the form of processors 101, storage capability including system memory 114 and mass storage 104, input means such as keyboard 109 and mouse 110, and output capability including speaker 111 and display 115. In one embodiment, a portion of system memory 114 and mass storage 104 collectively store an operating system to coordinate the functions of the various components shown in FIG. 3.

In accordance with one or more embodiments of the present invention, methods, systems, and computer program products are disclosed for navigating through a computer file and visualizing portions of the navigated file.

One or more embodiments of the present invention allow someone to display, understand and verify the contents of various types of files, including structured binary files.

With reference now to FIG. 4, a flow diagram illustrates a method 200 according to one or more embodiments of the present invention for computer file navigation and visualization.

In one or more embodiments of the present invention, the method 200 may be embodied in software that is executed by computer elements located within a network that may reside in the cloud, such as the cloud computing environment 50 described hereinabove and illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2. In other embodiments, the computer elements may reside on a computer system or processing system, such as the processing system 100 described hereinabove and illustrated in FIG. 3, or in some other type of computing or processing environment.

After a start operation in block 204, an operation in block 208 selects a file as input for record navigation visualization. The file may be a binary file that contains structured or self describing data. The file can contain multiple records that each contain a header followed by data, such as z/OS SMF records, or the file can contain a single record such as an image file, sound file, or any other type of structured binary data file.

Next, a decision operation in block 212 selects between navigating the selected file as structured record segments, or as spanned structured records that require assembly, or the file segment or record navigation activities (i.e., the method 200) may end in an operation in block 216.

If the decision operation in block 212 is to select navigating the selected file as structured record segments, then an operation in block 220 navigates the file as structured record segments using a segment descriptor word (SDW) that contains the length of the current segment, where the length of the segment plus the offset of the segment within the file is the location of the next segment. In this way, the record segments can be traversed sequentially or located by record segment number. For example, FIG. 5 depicts a display screen 500 showing exemplary record navigation visualization tooling for an example of an SMF binary file.

An operation in block 224 loads the record segment into the record or segment machine code display area 504 of the display screen 500 shown in FIG. 5.

An operation in block 228 displays record header information for the type of structured file being examined in an area 508 of the display screen 500 of FIG. 5.

Next, a decision operation in block 232 decides whether or not to examine the currently displayed record segment. If not, the method 200 goes back to the operation in block 212. If so, an operation in block 236 examines the record segment by using a pointing device to select data nibble, byte, half word, word, or combinations and multiple of each in the record or segment machine code display area 504 shown in FIG. 5. Alternatively, the data field navigation offset and length may be used to select a number of bytes at the specified offset or select a field in the record segment that is used to auto select the first byte or specified number of bytes to format.

In the operation in block 236, the selected data is automatically formatted based on rules associated with the length of the selected data such that all possible formattings are presented where those formattings are related to the data found in the binary file type that is being examined. For example, an SMF record segment with a certain length of selected data may be formatted to display the data as ASCII, EBCDIC, signed or unsigned integer, hexadecimal or binary floating point, packed hexadecimal, packed decimal, a date, a time, a date/time, a time of day (TOD) clock, or TOD offset value, or any other value that is implemented in an SMF record. When examining a binary sound file type, a sound section can be displayed acoustically. When examining a binary image file, the location, color, intensity, and other parameters of the selected data can be shown visually in a sub image display.

The method 200 then branches back to the decision operation in block 232. Once the decision operation in block 232 decides not to examine the currently displayed record segment, the method 200 branches back to the decision operation in block 212. Then, if the decision operation in block 212 decides to navigate the selected file as spanned structured records that require assembly, an operation in block 240 sets the record header field filters to allow the record traversal to skip forward or backward, depending on traversal direction, to the next or previous record with the field value that is indicated in the field filter. This can include any header field available. For example, an SMF record can be filtered by SMF record type and/or subtype, date and time of the record, the system the record is from, or any other header field values that are present in the header.

Next, a decision operation in block 244 decides whether or not the record is a spanned record. If so, an operation in block 248 assembles the spanned record. The file record is assembled from record segments and located. FIG. 6 depicts a spanned variable block record 600 for the SMF binary file type example. FIG. 7 depicts an assembled SMF record header and data segment 700 for the SMF binary file type example. Note that record segments and data segments describe two distinct and different items.

If the decision operation in block 244 indicates that the record is not a spanned record, then no record assembly is necessary and file record traversal can continue until a desired record is located.

An operation in block 252 navigates the file as assembled records using the segment descriptor word (SDW) that contains the length of the current segment. The length of the segment plus the offset of the segment within the file is the location of the next segment. In this way, the record segments can be assembled together to create a complete record. The records can then be traversed sequentially or located by record segment number.

An operation in block 256 loads the record segment into the record or segment machine code display area 504 of the display screen 500 of FIG. 5.

Next, a decision operation in block 260 decides whether or not to examine the currently displayed record. If not, the method 200 branches back to the operation in block 212. If so, an operation in block 264 examines the record using a pointing device to select data nibble, byte, half word, word, or combinations and multiple of each in the record or segment machine code display area 504 shown in the display screen 500 of FIG. 5. Alternatively, the data field navigation offset and length may be used to select a number of bytes at the specified offset or select a field in the record that is used to auto select the first byte or specified number of bytes to format.

Further, the selected data is automatically formatted based on rules associated with the length of the selected data such that all possible formattings are presented where those formattings are related to the data found in the binary file type that is being examined. For example, an SMF record segment with a certain length of selected data may be formatted to display the data as described in the operation in block 236.

The method 200 then branches back to the operation in block 260.

Other areas of the display screen 500 of FIG. 5 include a file and window control area 512, a field navigation controls area 516, a data segment navigation controls area 520, a selected data information area 524, and a selected data decoding display area 528.

Embodiments of the present invention allow someone to display the specific contents of various types of files, for example, records, such as those associated with the IBM z/OS operating system—specifically, its system management facilities (SMF) record(s)—at the bit and byte levels and up, using an easy to use, intuitive, flexible, and portable visualization tool

Embodiments of the present invention may be available on multiple workstation platforms, including Linux, Unix, Windows, Mac OS X, and others, using an industry standard and platform independent web browser, such as Mozilla Firefox. Further, embodiments of the navigation and visualization tool of the present invention provide specific data decoder formats including unsigned, signed, hexadecimal floating point, binary floating point, packed decimal, date, time, date and time, and more.

In addition, the navigation and visualization tool of embodiments provide the capability to view previous, current, and future releases of z/OS SMF records and be multi-purpose, including for System z Product Development, Test, Debug, Support, and other product areas, and OEM SMF related offerings and purposes. Also, the navigation and visualization tool may be upward compatible and/or easily maintained for future releases of z/OS SMF, including for 64-bit architecture and greater implementations (e.g., a 128-bit architecture).

In various embodiments of the present invention, the navigation and visualization tool is a stand-alone, highly flexible HTML/JavaScript application that runs under Mozilla Firefox web browser, but is not limited as such. Other web browsers may be utilized in embodiments of the present invention. The stand-alone nature of the navigation and visualization tool of embodiments means that the HTML file may be used with the Mozilla Firefox web browser on any Linux, Unix, Windows, Mac OS X workstation (or any other workstation supporting Mozilla Firefox) to navigate and analyze a z/OS SMF file. It also allows loading of a z/OS SMF file that has been properly FTP'ed to a workstation. Record or segment navigation may be selected. Records or segments can be serially or directly accessed for file navigation. For record navigation, a series of tools may be available that allow for relatively easy navigation of any SMF record. In addition, SMF record fields may be converted from their native hexadecimal representation to printable representations for signed and unsigned numeric, floating point, EBCDIC and ASCII character, and timestamp fields by highlighting the native hexadecimal at the SMF record defined offset and length.

The present invention may be a system, a method, and/or a computer program product. The computer program product may include a computer readable storage medium (or media) having computer readable program instructions thereon for causing a processor to carry out aspects of the present invention.

The computer readable storage medium can be a tangible device that can retain and store instructions for use by an instruction execution device. The computer readable storage medium may be, for example, but is not limited to, an electronic storage device, a magnetic storage device, an optical storage device, an electromagnetic storage device, a semiconductor storage device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. A non-exhaustive list of more specific examples of the computer readable storage medium includes the following: a portable computer diskette, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or Flash memory), a static random access memory (SRAM), a portable compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), a digital versatile disk (DVD), a memory stick, a floppy disk, a mechanically encoded device such as punch-cards or raised structures in a groove having instructions recorded thereon, and any suitable combination of the foregoing. A computer readable storage medium, as used herein, is not to be construed as being transitory signals per se, such as radio waves or other freely propagating electromagnetic waves, electromagnetic waves propagating through a waveguide or other transmission media (e.g., light pulses passing through a fiber-optic cable), or electrical signals transmitted through a wire.

Computer readable program instructions described herein can be downloaded to respective computing/processing devices from a computer readable storage medium or to an external computer or external storage device via a network, for example, the Internet, a local area network, a wide area network and/or a wireless network. The network may comprise copper transmission cables, optical transmission fibers, wireless transmission, routers, firewalls, switches, gateway computers and/or edge servers. A network adapter card or network interface in each computing/processing device receives computer readable program instructions from the network and forwards the computer readable program instructions for storage in a computer readable storage medium within the respective computing/processing device.

Computer readable program instructions for carrying out operations of the present invention may be assembler instructions, instruction-set-architecture (ISA) instructions, machine instructions, machine dependent instructions, microcode, firmware instructions, state-setting data, or either source code or object code written in any combination of one or more programming languages, including an object oriented programming language such as Smalltalk, C++ or the like, and conventional procedural programming languages, such as the “C” programming language or similar programming languages. The computer readable program instructions execute entirely on the user's computer, partly on the user's computer, as a stand-alone software package, partly on the user's computer and partly on a remote computer or entirely on the remote computer or server. In the latter scenario, the remote computer may be connected to the user's computer through any type of network, including a local area network (LAN) or a wide area network (WAN), or the connection may be made to an external computer (for example, through the Internet using an Internet Service Provider). In some embodiments, electronic circuitry including, for example, programmable logic circuitry, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGA), or programmable logic arrays (PLA) may execute the computer readable program instructions by utilizing state information of the computer readable program instructions to personalize the electronic circuitry, in order to perform aspects of the present invention.

Aspects of the present invention are described herein with reference to flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus (systems), and computer program products according to embodiments of the invention. It will be understood that each block of the flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in the flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, can be implemented by computer readable program instructions.

These computer readable program instructions may be provided to a processor of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus, create means for implementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks. These computer readable program instructions may also be stored in a computer readable storage medium that can direct a computer, a programmable data processing apparatus, and/or other devices to function in a particular manner, such that the computer readable storage medium having instructions stored therein comprises an article of manufacture including instructions which implement aspects of the function/act specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks.

The computer readable program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer, other programmable data processing apparatus, or other device to cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer, other programmable apparatus or other device to produce a computer implemented process, such that the instructions which execute on the computer, other programmable apparatus, or other device implement the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks.

The flowchart and block diagrams in the Figures illustrate the architecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementations of systems, methods, and computer program products according to various embodiments of the present invention. In this regard, each block in the flowchart or block diagrams may represent a module, segment, or portion of instructions, which comprises one or more executable instructions for implementing the specified logical function(s). In some alternative implementations, the functions noted in the block may occur out of the order noted in the figures. For example, two blocks shown in succession may, in fact, be executed substantially concurrently, or the blocks may sometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending upon the functionality involved. It will also be noted that each block of the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, and combinations of blocks in the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, can be implemented by special purpose hardware-based systems that perform the specified functions or acts or carry out combinations of special purpose hardware and computer instructions.

The following definitions and abbreviations are to be used for the interpretation of the claims and the specification. As used herein, the terms “comprises,” “comprising,” “includes,” “including,” “has,” “having,” “contains” or “containing,” or any other variation thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion. For example, a composition, a mixture, process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements is not necessarily limited to only those elements but can include other elements not expressly listed or inherent to such composition, mixture, process, method, article, or apparatus.

As used herein, the articles “a” and “an” preceding an element or component are intended to be nonrestrictive regarding the number of instances (i.e., occurrences) of the element or component. Therefore, “a” or “an” should be read to include one or at least one, and the singular word form of the element or component also includes the plural unless the number is obviously meant to be singular.

As used herein, the terms “invention” or “present invention” are non-limiting terms and not intended to refer to any single aspect of the particular invention but encompass all possible aspects as described in the specification and the claims.

As used herein, the term “about” modifying the quantity of an ingredient, component, or reactant of the invention employed refers to variation in the numerical quantity that can occur, for example, through typical measuring and liquid handling procedures used for making concentrates or solutions. Furthermore, variation can occur from inadvertent error in measuring procedures, differences in the manufacture, source, or purity of the ingredients employed to make the compositions or carry out the methods, and the like. In one aspect, the term “about” means within 10% of the reported numerical value. In another aspect, the term “about” means within 5% of the reported numerical value. Yet, in another aspect, the term “about” means within 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, or 1% of the reported numerical value.

The descriptions of the various embodiments of the present invention have been presented for purposes of illustration, but are not intended to be exhaustive or limited to the embodiments disclosed. Many modifications and variations will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the described embodiments. The terminology used herein was chosen to best explain the principles of the embodiments, the practical application or technical improvement over technologies found in the marketplace, or to enable others of ordinary skill in the art to understand the embodiments disclosed herein. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A computer-implemented method comprising: selecting, by a processor, a file to provide for navigation of its contents; determining, by the processor, to provide for navigation of the file as structured record segments; providing, by the processor, for navigation of the file as structured record segments; displaying, by the processor, the structured record segments during navigation of the file; determining, by the processor, to provide for navigation of the file as spanned structured records; and displaying, by the processor, the spanned structured records during navigation of the file.
 2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 wherein the file comprises a binary file containing structured data comprising one or more records.
 3. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 wherein providing, by the processor, for navigation of the file as structured record segments comprises the processor using a segment descriptor word that contains a length of a current record segment wherein the length of the current record segment plus an offset of the current record segment comprises a location in the file of the next record segment.
 4. The computer-implemented method of claim 3 wherein displaying, by the processor, the structured record segments during navigation of the file comprises displaying, by the processor, the structured record segments in one of a sequential manner or by record segment number.
 5. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 wherein providing, by the processor, for navigation of the file as structured record segments comprises the processor using a segment descriptor word that contains a length of a current record segment, and further providing, by the processor, for navigation of the file by traversing forward or backward through the structured record segments to locate a particular record segment or by locating a particular record segment by record segment number.
 6. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 wherein determining, by the processor, to provide for navigation of the file as spanned structured records comprises the processor setting a record header field filters and the processor providing for navigation of the file as spanned structured records comprises the processor providing for navigation by traversing forward or backward to a spanned structured record that is indicated by one of the record header field filters.
 7. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 further comprising assembling, by the processor, the spanned structured records by record segments.
 8. A system comprising: a processor in communication with one or more types of memory, the processor configured to: select a file to provide for navigation of its contents; determine to provide for navigation of the file as structured record segments; provide for navigation of the file as structured record segments; display the structured record segments during navigation of the file; determine to provide for navigation of the file as spanned structured records; and display the spanned structured records during navigation of the file.
 9. The system of claim 8 wherein the file comprises a binary file containing structured data comprising one or more records.
 10. The system of claim 8 wherein the processor configured to provide for navigation of the file as structured record segments comprises the processor configured to use a segment descriptor word that contains a length of a current record segment wherein the length of the current record segment plus an offset of the current record segment comprises a location in the file of the next record segment.
 11. The system of claim 10 wherein the processor configured to display, the structured record segments during navigation of the file comprises the processor configured to display the structured record segments in one of a sequential manner or by record segment number.
 12. The system of claim 8 wherein the processor configured to provide for navigation of the file as structured record segments comprises the processor configured to use a segment descriptor word that contains a length of a current record segment, and the processor further configured to provide for navigation of the file by traversing forward or backward through the structured record segments to locate a particular record segment or by locating a particular record segment by record segment number.
 13. The system of claim 8 wherein the processor configured to determine to provide for navigation of the file as spanned structured records comprises the processor configured to set record header field filters and the processor configured to provide for navigation of the file as spanned structured records comprises the processor configured to provide for navigation by traversing forward or backward to a spanned structured record that is indicated by one of the record header field filters.
 14. The system of claim 8 1further comprising the processor configured to assemble the spanned structured records by record segments.
 15. A computer program product comprising: a non-transitory storage medium readable by a processing circuit and storing instructions for execution by the processing circuit for performing a method comprising: selecting, by a processor, a file to provide for navigation of its contents; determining, by the processor, to provide for navigation of the file as structured record segments; providing, by the processor, for navigation of the file as structured record segments; displaying, by the processor, the structured record segments during navigation of the file; determining, by the processor, to provide for navigation of the file as spanned structured records; and displaying, by the processor, the spanned structured records during navigation of the file.
 16. The computer program product of claim 15 wherein the file comprises a binary file containing structured data comprising one or more records.
 17. The computer program product of claim 15 wherein providing, by the processor, for navigation of the file as structured record segments comprises the processor using a segment descriptor word that contains a length of a current record segment wherein the length of the current record segment plus an offset of the current record segment comprises a location in the file of the next record segment.
 18. The computer program product of claim 17 wherein displaying, by the processor, the structured record segments during navigation of the file comprises displaying, by the processor, the structured record segments in one of a sequential manner or by record segment number.
 19. The computer program product of claim 15 wherein providing, by the processor, for navigation of the file as structured record segments comprises the processor using a segment descriptor word that contains a length of a current record segment, and further providing, by the processor, for navigation of the file by traversing forward or backward through the structured record segments to locate a particular record segment or by locating a particular record segment by record segment number.
 20. The computer program product of claim 15 wherein determining, by the processor, to provide for navigation of the file as spanned structured records comprises the processor setting a record header field filters and the processor providing for navigation of the file as spanned structured records comprises the processor providing for navigation by traversing forward or backward to a spanned structured record that is indicated by one of the record header field filters. 